From the Bay to the Beehive July 2019

Greetings again, and I hope, like me, you are buoyed by the fact that from now our days will start to become longer.

I have enjoyed being out and about in our community this last month. The public meetings are always hugely engaging, with questions wide-ranging.

I do sense growing frustration with the lack of key investment in this city. I intend to be the stone in this Government's shoe until that gets sorted (or I am part of a newly-elected National Government)!

I was given the additional accountability of Forestry in our recent reshuffle which I am looking forward to. It sits well with Climate Change, which is an increasingly front of mind issue for our community and the country.

Take care out there, and I look forward to catching up soon.

Kind regards

Todd MullerMP for Bay of Plenty

Public Meetings

To be an effective MP for the Bay, I hold regular meetings throughout the year. This month I met with 100 Papamoa and Mount locals. It was valuable hearing their perspectives of where we are tracking as a country and for me to outline my view on a struggling and stumbling Government.

Eastpack Coolstore Blessing

This month I also attended the blessing of EastPack's new coolstore. This fully automated coolstore is the first in New Zealand for the kiwifruit industry and will allow this post-harvest organisation to be able to keep up with the significant demand for gold kiwifruit in the next 5 years. Here I am with Hamish Simson, Chief Executive of EastPack. It really is a peek around the corner to our future.

BOP Export Awards

This month I attended the BOP Export NZ Awards. I acknowledged the tremendous efforts of our exporters, from those remarkable first steps offshore, swallowing back the anxiety, and their staff who always stand behind the promise. Our region salutes them. I was also pleased for my good friend Murray Denyer who was acknowledged for his services to BOP exports. A remarkably driven, caring, high integrity man, with a great sense of humour. Photo credit: Jess Lowcher Photography.

Youth UN

I was invited to speak to our youth at the Tauranga Model United Nations on Climate Change and its connections with the UN. We discussed the power, challenges and trade-offs that occur when getting 190 countries to support climate action and what that means for New Zealand.

Climate Change - Have Your Say

To everyone interested in climate change, there are only a few weeks left to have your say. Declaring climate emergencies is all well and good but what counts is what and how things will be done differently, and what the additional cost will be.

More than 15,000 New Zealanders and organisations had their say on the Government’s proposed Zero Carbon Bill, now under consideration by Select Committee. This Bill will establish a framework which New Zealand can use to develop clear, stable climate change policies in accord with the Paris Agreement.

It is so important, wherever you sit on this conversation, to have your say so please make time to make a submission on the Government’s Zero Carbon Bill before submissions close on Tuesday July 16. Make your submission here.

Video - The Bay Deserves Better

Please click below to watch my speech in the House about how the Bay of Plenty deserved better infrastructure investment from this Government's 2019 Budget.